


Winter Wonders

by lifeaftermeteor



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2020, Gen, Holiday Fic Exchange, Holidays, Ice Skating, Post-Canon, Post-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Slice of Life, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28570362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeaftermeteor/pseuds/lifeaftermeteor
Summary: Mariemaia and her guardian, Cordelia Une, enjoy a night out in Brussels’ Christmas Market.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 9
Collections: GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2020





	Winter Wonders

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NoirAnge (noirangetrois)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/noirangetrois/gifts).



> Noir requested winter scene/scenes between Une and Mariemaia after the wars for the 2020 Gundam Wing Holiday Exchange and I was all too happy to deliver. Family bonding is so soft and sweet, especially with these two. Happy holidays and best wishes for 2021, Noir! I hope you enjoy your gift!

Mariemaia sipped hot chocolate from the cup in her hand, relishing in the rich sweetness against her tongue. She strolled unhurried beside her guardian, Cordelia Une, through Brussels’ Christmas Market. The air was filled with a dizzying blend of scents. As they walked, Mariemaia caught the wafting, mouth-watering smell of roasting meat, baked goods, or warm spices each in their own time. Rows of wooden stalls were lined with twinkling lights, making them look like life-sized gingerbread houses. Patrons flitted between them to collect their holiday necessities. The buildings around them had been spotlit, giving their regal architecture added depth and a sense of magical wonder that they otherwise lacked in the daylight. Over all of it towered the giant Winter Wonders ferris wheel.

Mariemaia absent-mindedly tugged her hat a little lower to cover her ears and fend off the evening’s growing chill. She then hooked her arm through Cordelia’s, linking them together at the elbow.

Her guardian chuckled. “Having fun?” she asked before taking a sip of the mulled wine from her own steaming cup.

“Yeah,” Mariemaia answered, feeling suddenly shy. Early on in her life, she had never really felt like a child—her grandfather had been too interested in world domination to waste time on “frivolous” things. She had spent years unlearning so much and Cordelia had been right there beside her, guiding her, helping her. Until now at the cusp of her teenage years, Mariemaia could finally allow herself to feel her mere twelve years and everything that went with it. Including an enchanted sense of wonder in the hubbub of a Christmas Market.

“I’m glad,” Cordelia said. 

They slipped into a comfortable silence for a time, enjoying each other’s company and the people-watching that the market allowed. As they approached the skating rink, however, Mariemaia’s steps faltered, and they drew to a stop. Mariemaia watched the skaters glide past them, laughing. Some raced from one end of the rink to the other while others skated almost lazily together, hand-in-hand. It looked delightful.

“Would you like to skate for a bit?” Cordelia asked her, sensing her unspoken desires.

Mariemaia worried her lip between her teeth before answering, “I don’t know how.”

Cordelia of course knew this and shook her head, dismissive. “No better time to learn than the present.” 

They finished their drinks at the rink’s edge before making their way to the ticket booth. The attendant handed them each a pair of skates and Cordelia led them over to some nearby benches. 

Sitting down, they swapped their footwear for the skates. “Lace them like you would your boots,” Cordelia instructed. “Tight enough that your ankles don’t roll, but not so tight that you can’t move.”

Mariemaia nodded and concentrated on her lacing, watching Cordelia do her own from the corner of her eye. Laces tight, they stood. 

“How’s it feel?” Cordelia asked, her eyes jumping from Mariemaia’s face to her feet and back.

“Odd,” Mariemaia admitted with a grin, “but stable.”

“It’ll feel better once we’re on the ice. Come on.”

Mariemaia followed Cordelia to the cutout in the rink’s barrier and held tightly to the edge as her guardian instructed. Good thing she did, too. No sooner had her skates hit the ice that they started to slide out from under her.

Her panic must have shown on her face because Cordelia was at her side immediately, offering a steadying hand. But once Mariemaia was stable again, Cordelia slid backwards just out of reach. With a quick glance off to the side to make sure there were no oncoming skaters—and those that were steered away—Cordelia began. “First lesson: bend your knees and keep your weight centered. You don’t want it too far forward or too far back.” Cordelia illustrated from where she stood on the ice and Mariemaia followed suit from her place against the rink barrier. 

“Good,” Cordelia commended. “Second lesson: you  _ glide _ . Don’t try to shuffle or walk. Keep one foot straight while the other pushes back and away. Watch.” Again Cordelia demonstrated, first coming towards her and then away. 

“Third lesson: stopping. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest for a beginner is to turn your toes inward.” Cordelia angled the tips of her skates in towards one another, making an inverted ‘v.’ She paused then, the silence drawing Mariemaia’s attention back to meet her gaze. “Want to give it a try?”

Mariemaia gave her a wide smile. “Yes!”

Their first circuit was slow going, Mariemaia feeling like she spent about as much time on the ice as she did skating, but she started to feel stronger and steadier the longer they made their way around the rink. Cordelia only let go of her arm once she had completed her third circuit without falling once. As they skated, they chatted about simple things, Cordelia’s comments sprinkled with skating instruction.

“You’re good at this,” Mariemaia observed after a time, recognizing that her guardian’s skill on the ice far exceeded her own. 

Cordelia’s gaze turned inward. “My family’s home had a pond that would freeze over in winter once it was cold enough. As a girl—your age, younger—I would spend  _ hours  _ skating on it. My parents would have to come collect me, lest I get frostbite.”

The idea of a young Cordelia Une made Mariemaia smile. She wondered what she was like as a girl, whether they would have been friends—

But then Mariemaia was falling. Her hands and knees hit the cold ice with stinging force. She blinked, stunned.

From above her, Cordelia said without judgment, “Must’ve caught a divot. Here, let me help you up.

Mariemaia took the offered hand and suddenly felt tears well in her eyes. Upright once more, she pressed her face against Cordelia’s chest. The woman’s wool coat scratched at her cheeks, and she heard the startled, “Oh,” before Cordelia’s arms came around her.

“Are you okay?”

Yes, Mariemaia was okay. More than okay. But an epiphany had struck her soundly in this moment: she was safe and cared for and always would be. It had dawned on her with that simple gesture of kindness. With an outstretched hand, offered again and again, Cordelia showed her how much she loved her. And here in the crisp winter chill surrounded by festive lights and holiday cheer, Mariemaia suddenly knew it. 

“I love you, Mom,” she said, voice muffled.

She heard Cordelia’s startled gasp at the endearment and then hands cradled Mariemaia’s head and shoulders, embracing her tight. “I love you, too, sweet girl.”

Mariemaia smiled. and after a moment, she pulled away to meet Cordelia’s gaze. “Happy Christmas.”

Her mother’s eyes sparkled with happy, unshed tears as she held her. “Happy Christmas.”


End file.
